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Can the president force states to reopen businesses?

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President Donald Trump’s statement that he’d like the nation’s economy “raring to go” by Easter on April 12 was widely covered and received pushback from governors and public health officials.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Friday called the president’s timeline an “aspirational projection to give people some hope.”

CQ Roll Call spoke with two professors of law to see if the president has the authority to push states to open shuttered businesses.

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